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I arrived in Beijing without plans, rather than celebrating my 42nd birthday here, the rest was just going to let me go for the days, however I always had in mind that I would like go back to some places that had been my favorites, among them temples and others that had escaped me.

The day of my birthday my sister and I went out early to walk into Beijing center, through the Drum and Bell Tower, Jingshan and around the Forbidden City, a good start to start dive in the the historical district.

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Days later at the first opportunity I had I went to the Temple of Heaven, Tiantan, that is still my favorite place in Beijing, or at least my favorite temple.

Luckily I had a nice day with few tourists, even so there were people who wanted me to pose for the photo, of course, a brown foreigner with a funny beard is something that many Chinese consider as worthy of photographing as the architecture, which not It bothers me, I find it funny, and somewhat awkward, I’m not given to being in front of the cameras, it’s the least I can do as a guest in the culture, and it’s also part of the experience, for them and for me, though, there were halls that I entered and I were completely alone.

The whole complex of the temple and its gardens is a masterpiece, a representation of Chinese culture, the feeling of amazement here is comparable to what I have felt just in front of natural wonders, the good thing about knowing such a great place is that I can take some time and just sit down and enjoy being there.

And being is something that is hard for me, I want to absorb as much as I can and it is frequent that my mind gets lost in thoughts, or rather, it disperses, so any time I can get some calm I take advantage of it.

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A perfect place for seek calm is the Yonghe Temple, The Peace and The Harmony Palace, known as the Lama Temple, a temple and monastery of Tibetan Buddhism, a succession of halls with exquisite Buddhist art, large statues of Buddhas, decorations and other representations of Lamaism cosmology.

I always feel tempted to take pictures inside the halls, my photographer instinct I suppose, but it can more my respect the place and its beliefs, I prefer to just sit and watch the devotees pay tribute in front of the altars, walk a little and mix in the atmosphere charged with incense and tranquility.

In the inner courtyards it is allowed to take pictures, I divide the time between the camera and the prayer wheels, at the end of the day I achieve some peace and harmony.

I am not a religious person, I have no affiliation to religion or worship, yet I have a deep respect for the different religious manifestations and philosophies, I like to think that I can take the most interesting of each, and feel the spirituality that inspires so many people to come to this temple.

After leaving the temple, I continued walking along the Guozijian Street, up to The Confucius Temple and the Imperial Academy. I pass by and prefer to sit down to eat in a small restaurant on the street, while I watch the teachers carry the children to know their history and to know the teachings of Confucius, the same teachers and children who have passed through this same street for centuries.

The Dongyue Temple is another interesting place and it’s near to where I’m staying, when I arrive I don’t feel like seeing Taoist deities and demons, I’m sure I’ll come back another time.

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The last place I visit is the Summer Palace, which I had never gone to because it is far away, it is just outside Beijing, I wake up early and embark on the long journey in the subway.

And it worth the trip, as soon as I leave the station I’m in a forest, I did not expect the drastic change, at first I’m a little lost, but I follow the people and arrived at the entrance.

The Summer Palace is a giant complex of gardens, lakes and palaces, I only managed to walk the Longevity Hill and the banks of Kunming Lake, the heat and the effort of traveling the whole hill leave me exhausted to continue to the rest of the 3 square kilometers of the park, however I was very satisfied with what I see, back looking for the exit I round the hill and find even more temples and small gardens, at one point I go into the forest and I sit at the shore of one the channels for a long time, is the only place where I will be during the whole trip where I do not see buildings or any other structure, only nature.

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To The Forbidden City I skirted it several times, I saw it from a distance, from up close, from the top, still I never entered, for restorations the number of visitors is limited and to get a ticket you have to arrive earlier than I’m willing to wake up, another attraction I know very good and I’ll be back on another trip.

I think the visits to the temples had their meaning, they fulfilled a goal, although I have to say that there is a limit to how many traditional Chinese buildings you can see in a short time, that’s why I always alternated it with the modern Beijing, and that’s what I will continued telling about in the next post of the series.

Published by Pablo E. Peña P.

Hi, my name is Pablo, I’m a Venezuelan visual artist, with more than 20 years working in various areas of the graphic creativity, motion design, art direction, photography and video making.
View all posts by Pablo E. Peña P.